Bangladesh News

Hinting at Awami League (AL), BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia said the caretaker government could not announce the election schedule timely, despite its willingness, due to the ‘anarchy and chaos created by a political party’.

Describing the initiative taken by the president to resolve the political impasse, Khaleda Zia said, “All of you know what the president have done and what he said. The election schedule will be announced soon. He (the president) urged all to participate in the electoral process.”

“We handed over power following the constitution on October 29 and we hoped that the caretaker government would begin the electoral process quickly and announce the schedule,” she said.

She was addressing a gathering of doctors in NAM Conference Centre in the capital yesterday, organised by the Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB), an association of pro-BNP doctors.

He urged the pro-BNP doctors to seek votes for the sheaf of paddy, the election symbol of BNP, and urged them not to take fees from their patients in the next two months.

“Seek votes for the sheaf of paddy and tell your patients that BNP gave them peace and stopped cheating in academic examinations,” she told the doctors adding that peace, development, democracy and truth will win the next election against terrorism, anarchy, chaos and falsehood.

Blasting her political opponents the BNP chairperson said they [AL] killed people, even attacked hospitals and were involved with terrorism by giving rise to criminal godfathers while in power, and created chaos by imposing a blockade when not in power. “What type of politics is that?” she questioned.

Mentioning the developments in the country during her regime, Khaleda said BNP carried out a lot of development work to ensure welfare of the people. Average income of the people, their purchasing capacity, and the average life expectancy of the people increased in the last five years, she said.

“People were happy during our tenure as they witnessed development in their areas and now they want an election,” she added.

Lambasting 14-party leaders Khaleda Zia said 13 parties of the 14-party coalition had no representation in the immediate past parliament and that is why they do not want an election, as they know they will not win it.

“They (14-party leaders) are fine now as they are on television daily. If the election is held then they will lose this opportunity, that is why they don’t want to see the election taking place on schedule,” Khaleda alleged adding that the 14-party leaders want to create chaos instead of rule of the constitution.

Presided over by AKM Azizul Haque, president of DAB also principal of Khaleda Zia Medical College Hospital, the gathering was also addressed by former health minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, former state minister Mizanur Rahman Sinha, Vice-chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University MA Hadi, DAB Secretary General AZM Zahid Hossain, and Principal of Dhaka Medical College Hospital Syed Mahbubul Alam.

A video documentary on the development work in the health sector, carried out during the BNP regimes, was also shown at the event.